CSVC: So where should we start. I guess let’s go back to your time as an undergraduate. You were a Smith student, yes?

Tian Tian: I was a double major in International Business and Supply Chain Management.

CSVC: How did you first get involved with the Center for Social Value Creation?

Tian Tian: I guess I heard about the Center through the grapevine? I had always been interested in going into consulting and spent a lot of time my sophomore and junior year doing work with the Society for Green Business. However, through that experience as well as my internships I had mostly worked with for-profit organizations.

CSVC: But you ended up doing a Grassroots.org Social Venture Consulting Project?

Tian Tian: Well, I actually did two different non-profit consulting projects later in my school career. One was with the SVC program, during that I worked with the Maryland Theater For The Performing Arts.

CSVC: Can you tell us a little about that?

Tian Tian: Sure, it was awhile back though. So MTFTPA was trying to scope out the building of a multimillion dollar public arts center in Annapolis. They had actually already hired a professional consulting firm to do some economic analysis, but we were assigned to additional market research and recommendations based around comparables. So we did some digging around, looking at Annapolis versus other regions, and created a group of case studies for them on organizations in three other arts communities. One in Arizona, Chicago, and Minneapolis. In the end, the resulting product was really helpful for the organization’s decision making going forward.

CSVC: Was it hard transitioning from for-profit to non-profit in school? And I guess then again after you graduated?

Tian Tian: There’s not really a difference between non-profit and for-profit consulting, to be honest. It’s an organization with an issue in both cases. So as a consultant, you need to follow appropriate processes, make sure you have data that backs up your recommendations. In the end, it’s just a business problem.

CSVC: You said you did two different non-profit projects while at Maryland?

Tian Tian: Yes, so I did the Grassroots.org SVC project as an extracurricular, but I also took an Operations Management class through QUEST. It was very much more curriculum-driven since we were in classes while doing our project. We learned about specific processes and frameworks. I’d say the main difference between the two experiences was the level of independence we had with Grassroots versus the in-class project. With the MTFTPA project we really had to self-regulate and manage, whereas the classroom forced us to do things a certain way. There was definitely value in both for me.

CSVC: Tell me how you got back involved with Center work now that you are out there working.

Tian Tian: Well, I found out about this Deloitte workshop last Fall from Ben [Note: Ben Kubic (UG ’10) was instrumental with getting the ball rolling for the CSVC-Deloitte workshop partnership] and just got really excited. I’d worked with the Center in the past, and I thought it would be beneficial on many levels to develop a relationship between my past and present. So I came along to the event, although I didn’t actually participate. Actually I don’t know if you guys knew this, but everyone that sat down one-on-one with the student teams was at Senior Consultant level or above. Anyways, I know everybody was really impressed that the undergraduate and graduate programs even have something like this and we all enjoyed being able to help.

CSVC: How do the sorts of values implicit in Center programs play into your work place? Do you find opportunities for non-profit work, or with sustainability?

Tian Tian: Well first of all, Deloitte definitely does a lot of pro bono non-profit consulting— it just tends to be for larger organizations. And they are even out there bidding against other consultancies to get teams on those projects, there’s contract competition for 501(c)(3)’s. If you’re familiar with the Urban Alliance, I know we do a lot of work with them. On the sustainability side, the organization has a practice specifically devoted to sustainability and although I haven’t been out of school long I’ve been trying to get more involved in that community.

CSVC: Do you stay tied to the Smith or Maryland community?

Tian Tian: I pretty much see my Maryland friends every Friday. But separate from that, at work there’s a running joke that Maryland is starting to take over a room at our office. There’s a certain place where a lot of the business analysts go for short breaks or coffee, and you walk in there and are just surrounded by Maryland alums. It’s actually kind of great.

CSVC: What do you do for fun?

Tian Tian: What do I do for fun…well I really enjoy food, definitely a foodie. I go to cooking shows sometimes. And I’m sure you know we just wrapped up the DC and Baltimore Restaurant Weeks, which is basically like Christmas for me. So that’s been really good.

CSVC: Do you have any closing thoughts we didn’t cover?

Tian Tian: Well, I really want to make sure I get across how much I think the Center For Social Value Creation is a great program and I’m glad I had the opportunity to participate in that. I learned so many applicable skills that I use today, and I’d encourage all students to take advantage of its programs.

CSVC: You don’t have to say that, we’ll still publish the interview.

Tian Tian: (laughing) No, I’m serious! Oh, and also another thing I want to mention is teams. It’s kind of cliché that people in interviews are always asking “do you have experience working in teams.” But to be able to honestly say I have, that I’ve been able to overcome struggles and challenges that come with team cohesion was really attractive to those employers. Also the fact that I had actually talked to clients, had dug deep to understand not only what the client was facing but what the industry was facing— that was gold. For the CSVC to offer those experiences has been such a great thing for me as I start my career.